My Way of Love
by Eophan
Summary: Maka visits Stein while he is under house-arrest, hoping only to cheer him and spend time with him. She soon finds that she got more than she bargained for. One-Shot.


Dr. Stein hadn't had a lot of visitors lately.

Ever since the Grand Kishin Asura had been unleashed upon the world, Stein had been shut away, the madness that now hung thick in the air affecting him more than most. He agreed with Lord Death that the best course of action, at least for the time being, was for him to stay in his lab until _something _happened to the madness that lurked outside. Essentially, he was under house arrest. Anyone could be allowed in, but under no circumstances was he allowed out.

Marie supposedly held a calming nature in her soul's wavelength, but even when she was near him, it didn't have the supposed effect. If anything, his mind was deteriorating at a frightening rate. It made him dangerous. Stein found himself looming over Marie while she slept on more than one occasion; scalpel in hand and not entirely sure how long he'd been there, or even when he'd grabbed the tool in the first place. On each of these occasions, he would drop the blade in panic, and rush out of her room to throw himself into a cold shower, twisting his bolt as tight as it would go.

In one of his saner moments, he calmly asked Marie to see if she could find a friend to stay with for the time being. She had nodded solemnly at this, not daring to look in his eyes.

It had been a few weeks after the incident when Stein was slumped back in his rolling-chair in front of his dull computer screen. It was dark otherwise in the room, but once again he found that he couldn't quite remember how long he'd been sitting in front of that gray block. Since that morning? Last night? All week? When was the last time he had eaten anything?

He rubbed his eyes, his glasses becoming askew from the gesture. He felt his consciousness ebb and flow from supposed lack of sleep, but for the moment he was back. A sense of purpose bubbled up, his moment of sanity suggesting that he should try and make use of it. He twirled in his chair a bit, letting his eyes wander aimlessly. Glancing around the dimly lit room offered him nothing. Sighing as the chair slowed to a halt at its original position, he leaned forward toward the computer. He rested his weary eyes on the blank screen and, blinking slowly, reached out to take a cigarette. A smoke might do him some good.

He was twisting his head around in a halfhearted search for a lighter when he heard a timid knock on the door behind him, a light voice following it.

"Professor? Are you in there?"

He searched out with a wavelength and found a familiar soul behind the door. "For the most part, I suppose," he mumbled to himself as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and shoved it back in its container. "The door's unlocked," he called out, his voice cracking from lack of use.

Stein spun slowly in his chair so that he could cast a weary eye on the lithe silhouette in front of him.

"I wonder how small a box I could fit you in if I were to crush you?" He wondered silently.

Maka entered and closed the door behind her with a single movement. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and jumped slightly at the sight of Stein.

He shook his thoughts away and cleared his throat. "Maka. What a nice surprise," he said flatly, adjusting his glasses. He waited a moment as Maka visibly relaxed. "Is there something I can do for you?"

The young meister shuffled her feet, but offered a smile that was barely visible in the dark room. "We're all pretty worried about you back at school. I figured I'd drop by to uh, you know, put everyone's minds at ease that you're still alive in here."

The corners of Stein's mouth twitched. There was some use in his moment of sanity after all.

"That's very nice of you all. You'll have to send your friends my regards," he smiled.

Maka nodded and fidgeted before offering a sheepish grin. "I wouldn't have come alone, but everyone was worried for some silly reason or other... As if you'd do anything bad to your own students, right? Isn't that just ludicrous?"

"Hmm, ludicrous indeed..." Stein considered this, but quickly smiled and spoke in a chipper tone, "In any case, why don't you get that light switch over there and I'll make us some tea?"

"Oh... I wasn't planning on staying long, you really don't have to go through any trouble on my part-"

"Nonsense, I can't leave one of my finest students high and dry now can I?"

"Ah. Well, umm..." Maka turned and squinted as she ran her hands along the wall. Stein smirked. She was nowhere near as well adjusted to the darkness as he was; they could be here for quite some time if he allowed her to continue. It might be fun to watch her stumble for a while... Oh well.

He stood up, wincing as every bone in his body crackled and popped. He forced his stiff body to move in Maka's direction.

"This what you're looking for?" Stein briefly enveloped Maka to reach past her towards the switch. She squirmed underneath him, making him chuckle as he backed up. "Don't worry about it, I only knew it was there from muscle memory. Anyway..." Stein placed his hand on the small of Maka's back and gently led her towards his living area.

…..

Maka hesitated only for a moment when she felt herself being pushed away from the front door, along with any chance of her leaving soon.

Stein directed Maka towards one of the couches that he said Marie bought. She plopped down and stared at her knees as he busied himself with finding what he called "suitable drinking equipment." He soon left to an unseen room somewhere behind her, leaving Maka alone with her thoughts. She looked around the somber room and saw that everything, including the walls, were stitched in one way or another, and made a mental note to ask how that was done, exactly.

Maka heard clattering glass and what sounded like Stein uttering a curse, and she shuddered at the memory of what she had seen mere moments ago.

When Maka first entered Stein's lab, her initial thought was that she had walked in on a corpse. He was slumped in an abnormal fashion in his chair, his glasses following suit on his face. His lab coat was slung unevenly around his shoulders. She felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of his sunken eyes, the aura of ill intent swimming somewhere in their depths.

As fast as the fear came to her, it left, and the teacher she knew was sitting in front of her again. She scolded herself silently for reacting like a fool.

Now that she was alone, she was once again feeling inane. Why hadn't she just said a quick, "Hello, how are you doing?" and left it at that? She wasn't technically supposed to be visiting him, let alone inviting herself in the way she had.

Behind her, she heard quiet humming. It was a pleasant, calming sound: Low and steady. The corners of her mouth twitched, feeling a bit of her worry slip away. This was a family friend, and a trusted meister at that. It was completely normal for her to want to spend some time with him, and perfectly acceptable to care about his well-being. Visiting him was just a part of that. After all, what harm could there be in having a quick chat with her Professor over tea?

Maka sighed and clacked her knees together. Either way, she was here now, and that was that. She leaned back, content to listen to Stein's toneless humming.

…..

It wasn't long before a small tray was placed on the table in front of Maka, snapping her our of her daze.

"Sorry about all that, Marie is normally the one that takes care of this kind of thing," Stein mumbled as he sat across from her, spooning out sugar into his own cup as he did so.

Maka reached for her own cup, but found her eyes wandering while Stein was focusing elsewhere. For the first time that day she was able to get a good look at his face: His normally pale complexion had become a ghostly pallor, which contrasted the dark purple and gray that circled his eyes. He looked like he could pass out if he were to accidentally blink too long. For a moment, Maka had the insane urge to run her thumb along the stitches from his nose to his jaw, and assure him that everything would be alright.

Instead, she averted her gaze and picked up her little teaspoon, imitating Stein's movements. "Don't worry about it, I'm terrible with this stuff too. I don't even drink tea normally, and Soul is better with food than I am."

"Hmm, what a shame. I guess I can't tell you to cook for me for extra credit than, can I?"

Maka chuckled. "No, that would probably be a bad idea."

Yeah, everything was how it should be.

…...

Stein took a sip from his cup and swallowed. He figured if there was any time to ask about the current state of the world, it may as well be now. A redundant question came to mind, for he already knew the answer, but he had to start somewhere. "So, Maka, has there been any luck with the Kishin yet?"

Maka hesitated at the abrupt change of conversation, and answered carefully. "No sign of him yet... Everyone's had their hands tied dealing with Arachnophobia and Medusa."

Stein blinked. Hadn't he chopped her in half? "Medusa, you say?"

Maka shuddered. "She's taken over the body of a little girl and turned herself in. No one is sure what her intentions are yet."

"Nothing good, I can only assume. I wonder how it is she survived?" He trailed off and suppressed a shiver. That might be why his hallucinations of her had become less and less frequent. Even so, the memory of her coos of encouragement to let himself drift into madness were enough to ring clear in his head. He could imagine hearing her whisper all the lovely things that awaited him if he were to just let go, how truly easy it would be...

It made him want to stitch his own ears shut. He cracked his neck to the side and turned his bolt twice to rid himself of the sound. He really could go for a cigarette right about now.

"Chrona must be having a hard time with that... I can relate." He adjusted his glasses. His eyes were aching, and it was sure to turn into a headache soon. Or maybe he just needed sleep. Surely Maka wouldn't mind if he just folded her up and turned her into a pillow for a few hours...

Maka must have noticed this, he thought. He turned his head in her direction and he saw that her hands were plastered over her mouth and she was looking at him pleadingly. She moved her hands to her chin and stammered, "I-I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking about what I was saying-"

"It's quite alright Maka, I'd rather hear it from you than anyone else. Besides, I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to keep secrets from me. It's something we're all involved in." He patted her on the shoulder in his attempt to seem sincere. She relaxed, and looked embarrassed, but calm.

...

Stein often found himself oddly grateful for Maka's deep respect for him, as well as the unyielding trust the girl held for him. Even when he was visibly breaking, his little student thought no less of him. If he were a little younger he wouldn't have hesitated to use that to his advantage, and she would have found herself drastically altered in one way or another in a mere eye-blink. Stein was willing to bet she would comply completely. Of course, to even think about experimenting on the girl now was unthinkable. He turned away and reached for his tea to hide a smirk. Well, maybe not un_think_able, just unreasonable.

Still though, that respect Maka had sometimes bled over into something a bit more, and Stein could only chuckle when he picked up the occasional odd wavelength in Maka's soul that seemed to be obvious only to him. After all, a girl as young as she was would not understand the difference between respect and affection for quite a few years. Otherwise, she wouldn't be quite so comfortable with taking every opportunity possible to throw herself at him, and crush him in a hug.

Oh how he would love to tease her father about this:

_Hey, Spirit, you wouldn't believe it, but your daughter seems to have quite the little crush on me. Isn't that just darling? Why, in a couple of years, it wouldn't be beyond me to...Well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks, old friend._

Ah, if only.

He again felt that cute little wave, and sipped his tea to hide his smile. Things like love and affection were beyond his spectrum of emotions, but things like the soul's waves made perfect sense to him. Another thing he was grateful for, he supposed.

It wasn't entirely unwelcome, but it resonated a little too closely with the lingering madness, leaving him slightly dazed.

...

Maka cocked her head to the side."Is everything ok, Professor? If I'm too much of a burden, I can be out of here right away," she offered, shifting her weight slightly to better see his face.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, I'm alright for the moment. I'm actually glad you stopped by. It's nice to see someone with a good grasp on sanity once in a while," he joked. Maka acted nonchalant, but her soul said otherwise. The little wavelength hit him again, and Stein watched as Maka's eyes slid to the right in sudden recollection of auditory, then visual memory.

He wondered when the last time her eyesight had been checked. Knowing how careless her father could be, it was probably when she was still young...Well, younger than she is now, anyway. It wouldn't be too hard to rip them out to examine them himself; a small eye like hers could very well be too narrow, thus making her far-sighted, and we can't have that now can-

"You know, I had to give myself up to the madness once," Maka mused as she stared into her cup.

"You-...What? Why would you do something like that?" Stein couldn't help the edge in his voice.

Maka shrunk away from him slightly, but didn't waver. "During our fight with Chrona, I couldn't get the upper hand on him, so I just... Had to. I'm fine now, it didn't leave any effects on me, and it's better that I did! Black Star would have just killed him, and I couldn't just _let_ that happen! I'm glad I did it, I understand what it is I'm fighting now..I think I understand you more as well."

Stein waited for that wavelength to hit him again, but it was instead replaced with something else in her soul...Apprehension? "Heh, to say there's no ill effects..." He sighed and twisted the bolt in his head as he continued calmly.

"Maka, there will always be madness in every individual. It's an inherent trait in every human's psyche. The difference between yours and mine is still great, however. It's always a task for me to differentiate which of my thoughts are reasonable according to our society's standards, and which are not. However, I am aware that most of what I would consider to be natural is, in fact, frowned upon. The madness itself is what blurs that awareness, to the point where I'm left in my original... Unaltered state. Even in the grip of the darkness, we are still completely ourselves, just with less control."

"I would be lying if I said I've never used my own madness for tactical purposes, much like you have, but it is never something to be trifled with." Stein's hand fell from his bolt, and he leaned forward to look Maka in the eye.

"Madness isn't something that can be broken down, or studied in books, or understood merely by experiencing it. I understand that you were in a life-threatening situation, but if you recall, what you did _was _going against my instructions. So please, never put yourself in a position where losing yourself is the only way."

Maka cast her eyes down and nodded. Stein realized that he should probably take his own advice sometime. He sat up straight and chuckled, noting that Maka seemed to deflate after his lecture. He twisted his bolt and gave Maka the most cheerful smile he could make. "Now your Father! _That _is true madness if I have ever seen it."

Maka grinned, but kept her eyes down. "I know what you mean. Heh, men...They're all the same." Stein's bolt gave a final satisfying 'click' and Maka sat bolt upright in panic. "W-Well I mean, maybe not all men are all exactly like that-"

Stein feigned a hurt voice and pantomimed as if he had been shot in the heart. "Ah no, I am indeed of the male persuasion I'm afraid, so I must be absolutely _horrid _in your eyes. I must apologize, my lady, for my erroneous ways."

"Well, I can't really judge you, I don't even know if you've even had a girlfriend or anything..."

Stein rubbed his lips. "Hmm...I suppose I haven't, come to think of it." That wasn't to say he hadn't experimented for experiment's sake, naturally, but recounting his tales of a gaggle of simple nubiles who were easily tempted by a few charming words was probably not what Maka had in mind.

Maka blinked. "Uh... huh."

"Don't act too surprised now, I'm sure I must appear to be a heart-throb to many a swooning lass, but alas, the evidence points to the contrary."

Maka crossed her legs and grasped her chin in thought. "You don't really make a good first impression, yeah. I don't know how it is you normally greet people, but if it was anything like the time we met, I doubt you'd have an easy time making friends."

Stein shrugged. "I'm used to it. I do always invite others to come visit my lab, but no one ever seems to want to accept..." Of course he only ever did that to hopefully find a willing subject, but that was besides the point.

Maka's expression softened, and for the first time showed her affection in her delicate features as she smiled shyly up at him. "But...I think if they just took the effort to get to know you, they'd see you're not all knives and stitches."

Ah, Maka. Her naivety would be her downfall one day, indeed it would.

"Now why would I want a bunch of annoyances' hanging around when I have you to come cheer me up?"

There was that wavelength again. It pressed on his chest, and the warm daze he had been in a moment ago turned into a sluggish, choked pressure. He felt himself instantly grow more tired, and twisted his bolt to stave off the madness that threatened to come forth.

"You look like you could use it, to be honest... It must be horrible, being stuck in here for so long."

"It's for the best. I'm sure you heard about Marie. These are dangerous times, and we can't have people like me running around right now. I keep myself occupied, anyway."

He picked up his teacup, but found it empty.

"Well, I don't know what time it is, but it must be getting late, considering it was dark when you got here." A strong wavelength hit him just as he said the last word, and he slumped from the pressure of it. As charming as her attachment to him was, it was becoming difficult to keep himself pleasant.

Maka stood up, and Stein's eyes wandered towards her long, thin legs. One knee bended a bit too far in, marking a double-joint. Double-jointed limbs only occurred to make up for a deficiency somewhere else in the body; that leg was stronger and more limber because of it. How far could it be bent backwards before it snapped?

"Ah, I see, let me help you clean up a bit. No offense, but you look exhausted." Maka bent over, gathered their dishes, and wandered away, pig tails swinging in her wake.

"N-none taken." Fuck. Now his voice was shaking. Soon the rest of him would be, too. The pressure was building in his chest, and he desperately needed to alleviate it somehow. What if he just ripped his heart out and gave it to Maka? That would make her happy, wouldn't it? That's how people normally handle this emotional shit, right? Give and take? It would be a win-win: She could finally be happy, and he would finally have found a place to die...

No. He would absolutely _not_ lose it while Maka was in the same room as him. He had managed to seem somewhat human for a very decent amount of time. Maka still respected him, and she was still completely intact; the same way she was before she came here. Just a few more minutes and he would be alone again for who knows how long-

Oh, hold on, she wasn't in the same room anymore, but further back. That means it's ok then.

…..

Stein had rested his arms along the back of the couch, and cracked his neck as Maka walked across his peripheral vision. "Alright, everything is in the sink back there, I couldn't find a washing machine or anything... So... I'll see you later, ok?"

Perfect. Wonderful. All he had to do now was wave goodbye, then go to bed.

Beds...bed are soft. Maka is soft too.

Fuck.

You know what's also soft? The feeling of a scalpel slipping between skin, the beautiful strangled screams of the subject like a symphony to accompany a masterful work of art. Ah, there was a sound that could lull him to sleep. Maka would suffice, though

What was he thinking again? He needed help remembering... His bolt, he needed to reach that giant fucking screw in his head, and set himself straight. Heh, fucking screw...

...Fuck.

"You know, I may be the only man in existence that can screw himself. Get it? Screw? Eh heh heh heh..." Or instead of waving he could just make a personal observation. In some countries that may even be an acceptable goodbye.

Giggling and clutching his head might not be though. How embarrassing. Maybe if he just walked away now, Maka wouldn't notice...

She's been staring at him the whole time. She looked frightened... Her adrenaline glands were forcing her heart to pump faster, causing her blood to rush and endorphins to kick in. Any pain she felt was dulled, while every other sense was operating at max efficiency. The extra effort on her body caused her breathing to pick up. The sensation known as fear...And it was all because of him. It was a cute reaction to his madness, especially considering she had seen it before. Right now, it was because she was utterly alone, with no one to run to but the dear old Doctor. She would be anticipating open arms and kind words. Naturally, being the kind soul that he was, he would there to oblige. Then he could tear out all of her golden locks to find the precise shape of her petite skull. He'd like to see that.

Most of all though, more than anything else in the world, he would love to see her dead.

"Professor? What's wrong?"

Stein shuddered, and heard his giggling slowly cease. He looked up and was startled to see that Maka had walked towards him. Didn't she realize that he was under house-arrest for a very good reason?

"Professor, please, I-...I want to help. Isn't there _anything_ that can help?"

"Maka...I'm afraid I have to insist...I can't be helped...Not now."

Maka's form became white noise in Stein's mind. He lifted up a trembling hand in an attempt to reach his bolt, but to no avail. His arm slumped down his side, the rest of his body slowly following suit until he felt the armrest of the couch under his head.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, an out of tune instrument played an unsteady note. Maybe that was it? Maybe if he could just get that note to sound right, then it would resonate within the rest of his being and set him right? He hummed tonelessly to himself, rocking slightly.

A pressure settled itself again on him, but it was different this time...External instead of internal. Little balls of heat were pressing against his chest, clutching him and shaking him. He stopped rocking to focus on it.

Stein blinked as he slowly realized that Maka was straddling him, burying her face in the crook of his neck and holding him as tight as she could. How funny: The affectionate wavelength was directly resonating in him from their contact, but he felt calm. Confused, utterly exhausted, but calm. He raised a lame hand to Maka's shoulder in an attempt to push her off, but it proved to be easier said than done. He must have said something to her, for she shook her head and only pushed herself closer to him, if it was even possible.

He cleared his throat and made a conscious effort to speak. "Maka, I'm ok, I'm calm. I just need some sleep."

She exhaled onto his neck, causing Stein to release a shaky breath. "Then I'll stay here."

"That... is the opposite of what you should do. I might end up hurting you."

"You won't."

"What if I hurt myself?"

"You won't."

"...Ugh." The wavelength hit Stein at full force, and he shivered. Maybe she had a point. It might have been a figment of his imagination, but it _seemed _like he was still holding on loosely to the tendrils of his sanity, and maybe it _was _Maka that was enabling him to pull off such a feat. She seemed to know more about this than he did; how else would she have thought to embrace him? Stein allowed himself to relax just slightly, already feeling his consciousness slipping, and rested an arm around Maka's small back.

Or she could have just seen this as an opportunity. Young girls and their fickle hormones are difficult to decipher. He could decide why later, it wasn't important... He was just so _tired. _And right now there was a warm little body pressed against his, and it wasn't even his doing for once. He blinked slowly at the ceiling, letting the feeling seep in.

There was a high probability that he was a disease, and Maka was the syringe that held the cure. It only made sense. He could finally fall asleep right there if he wanted. Maka would leave within moments of realizing her safety, and none would be any the wiser.

Or there's a chance that Stein would become too weak to fight his urges. He would be trapped in a waking nightmare where he ripped her apart, right then and there. There's also that.

Stein groaned and made a final attempt to push Maka off of him, and succeeded in at least getting her off of his shoulder. She stared at him with something that looked like fierce determination, and he wore the same tired expression in return.

There, she was beginning to peel off of him inch by inch, their noses were practically touching, but soon she would be off, and he could finally get that cigarette and go to bed...

Maka situated herself so she sat up straight, and something snapped behind her eyes as she leaned forward and the ghost of her lips brushed against his.

...

Hmm. There seemed to be a girl on his lap, kissing him. How interesting. One certainly couldn't say that this was a common occurrence, in any case. He proceeded cautiously. It was like a delicate subject that was trapped under his patient gaze. A small prod the wrong way, and within moments you have something that's useless and broken. Something like that isn't worthy of experimentation. Stein felt his hands move of their own accord, and gripped the youth's tiny arms. To the surprise of no one, she gripped back. They could continue moving in synchronization like this, and it would be all too easy. He could feel all her pretty little organs underneath that flawless skin, and find the exact style of her rib cage, and from there he would know exactly how to mold her into whatever interested him.

Stein lifted her shirt and slid a hand up her side. Maka broke from him to take in a sharp breath, and Stein used his chance to glide his tongue along her exposed neck. Payback for earlier, he figured. He whispered her name into her ear as he pulled her shirt high enough to reveal her abdomen. Maka panted and violently snapped her head to the side to get away from Stein's prodding tongue, and kissed him with renewed fervor instead.

Stein almost laughed. Out of all times for her stubborn nature to kick in, who'd have thought that it would be now?

He clawed at her sides, relishing the little twitches and spasms of her limbs and her torso. If Maka had a problem with this, then she wouldn't be ok with the way he pulled at her skirt, and unclasped her bra with a flick of his finger. If anything, she _wanted _this, and who was he to deny her? She groaned and rested her head on Stein's chest as his thumb swept past one still undeveloped bud, and unknowingly ground her hips into his. There was no way she could understand why goosebumps spread along her skin, or why she pushed herself into his large hands. Stein imagined that it must feel a bit like succumbing to insanity: It was a confusing process that sped along no matter how unprepared you felt, caressing you, and egging you on to only focus on one thing at a time in hyper-realistic detail. The only thing that mattered was satisfying your curiosity. Everything else was simply noise.

"Ngh..." Maka, in her attempts to respond, moved her hands under Stein's shirt and clasped onto his stomach. It sent a wave of heat down to his groin, and he feared that Maka would soon become acutely aware of what exactly she was getting herself into. An eerie moment of clarity suggested that he should move before things got uncomfortable. So Stein pushed Maka underneath him, and dull fear shook her soul for the first time. It accompanyed the already maddening wavelength that resonated in such a curious manner in Stein's strained head.

Stein lowered himself and gave a flat lick along Maka's stomach, tasting only clean skin. She gasped and clawed at his hair, which made him repeat the action, only slower. One hand pinned down both of hers above her head, while the other lifted her back for easier access. He nipped at the easily-bruised skin stretched over her ribcage, and had to make a deliberate effort to not rip it off. Maka struggled underneath him, seeming to be at a loss for how to respond. Stein pressed his lips under her jaw and let his hands roam south, crossing over small hillocks under her light uniform and the deep crest of her stomach. Maka trembled as one hand lifted her skirt and tugged at her underwear. Maka was panting, mewling, and twitching at every little touch and kiss.

Stein nibbled her neck, and was vaguely aware that the poor girl was as lost as he was. She couldn't know what to expect, and to resist him might be dangerous, so the only thing she _could _do was to accept Stein's every move. If that was the only thing she could do, then that meant that maybe this _wasn't _what she wanted. Maka had never expressed her consent, she had only responded as her body told her to.

There was a phrase for this, he knew it. Stein tugged at Maka's underwear again. What was it again?

Ah, yes: Statutory rape.

Wait a minute... This was a fourteen year old girl that he'd taught for two years now. He was at least twice her age. As for the girl in question, her name was Maka Albarn, and right now he was seriously considering doing something that could easily ruin both of their lives.

Stein's eyes shot open. "W-wait..." He groaned and forced himself into a sitting position next to her.

Stein sighed and offered a hand to Maka. She hesitated, then grabbed onto him and let herself be pulled up. Stein couldn't quite decipher the myriad of emotions playing on her face, but none of them seemed to be pleasant ones. He reached in his coat pocket and fished out a stump of a cigarette and bit down on it.

"Out of all the things you could be doing to help me, I think this is the most irresponsible method." Stein's tone was flat and even, cleverly hiding the madness that threatened to boil over at a moment's notice.

"I thought it helped a lot..." Maka murmured discontentedly. She stood up and straightened out her clothes silently. Stein merely sat and observed.

"You're probably right though. I'm way too young to be able to handle "adult" things like this." Stein could hear the venom in the last few words, but she lifted up a corner of her mouth and bounced on her heels. "That's what you told me, right? Never put myself in a position where I could lose myself, right? I think I understand what that means now. It's not like I'm losing myself to nothing, it'd be to something dumb that would hurt more people than just myself."

"I'm sorry Maka, I didn't...I'm not..." Stein couldn't find the right words to express the emotion he was feeling right then...Shame?

Maka just shook her head, smiled sweetly as if nothing had happened, and held up her hands innocently. "It's alright, but I should really be going now. I'll drop by soon, ok?"

Before Stein could so much as stammer out a proper apology, Maka was gone. He thought he heard a choked sob right before the door in his lab clicked shut.

...

Stein leaned back and collected his thoughts. The darkness on his mind had been alleviated just as Maka left. If he was lucky, he'd have enough time to feed his addiction before he lost himself again.

Calmly, he reached into his lab coat for the lighter he now knew was there, and flicked it to life. Stein inhaled deeply, slowly, the burning sensation soothing him. He smiled crookedly and let ebbing madness flood once more over his consciousness, and he giggled between clenched teeth. The image of Maka's naked form crept to mind, and he just laughed. He lost himself in the image, and the world was a dull gray to him once more.

Dr. Stein probably won't have any more visitors for a while.

* * *

><p>A bit of writing practice, and I wanted to get this idea out of my head before I went insane. Get it? Insane? Haha.<p>

I would absolutely _love _for you to tell me exactly what you think: Any little error, anything that you liked, any little thing that bugged you, please do tell me about it. Just to clarify, I don't plan on adding anything to this story. Thanks for reading, I'll let you go now.

EDIT:

I can't tell you guys how thankful I am. I put a lot of myself into this story, and a lot more into a shorter one-shot, more than I'd ever care to admit, but instead of the disgust I was expecting I get wonderful readers like yourselves finding the good points. I also get an inkling that you guys understand what I was going for, and that alone is enough to satisfy me. I hate everything I write, it's so nice to know that some people don't. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Really though, where are the typos? I've developed writer's tunnel vision and I can't find them...


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